AN: Hi again. I am going off script with this one. Please feel free to review and please PM me if I mess up something Lore-wise and I'll rewrite. I am also very happy to take suggestions on how this thing progresses.

I, as I may have said previously, have no plan and I am willing to go where ever I am led by either my own grey matter or any outside influences. My initial idea was just 'Hey, what if the gang got together and went on a road trip..." But first, lets just see what Max is up too...

AN EDIT: If you haven't read A Great Big Joke - A Story from the Fallout, you might want to I seem to be referring to events in it a lot :)

Chapter 1 – Re-introduction: Here's what you missed on Fallout.

Two years ago. Maxine Lillian Everton came up out of Vault 111 and into a new somewhat horrible world. She had been a wife, a mother, a career woman and a former black ops assassin. He husband had been murdered and her son had been taken by the shadowy organisation known as the Institute.

A lot had happened in the last two years as she adjusted to her new surroundings, her new life.

There were things that she never spoke of, things she never even thought of. Her son was one of those things. She would keep the secrets of what had passed between her son and her for the rest of her life. It had not been pretty and if she were to admit it, it had scarred her in a way that could never be soothed.

Two years. She stood atop the guard tower looking out at the Commonwealth. It had gone by so fast. She took stock of the things that had happened over that time. She woke up… that was a good start considering the rest of her neighbours in the vault had not. She had been called the sole survivor of vault 111. It was not true of course. Shaun had survived as well. She made some friends, she made a home. She became a General, she met a man… she lost a man, she lost some friends. She toppled the institute. Formed an alliance with the Brotherhood of Steel (although that was complicated). She had adjusted, where others may have gone screaming into the wasteland and to their deaths. She adapted and thrived.

Sanctuary Hills was her home, her forever home.

She had a few missteps. Made a few mistakes… everyone did. But she worked through them.

Max hoisted her rifle up to her shoulder and scanned the far shore of the river. Even though Sanctuary was one of the most highly defended settlements in the whole of the Commonwealth and it was unlikely that raiders or roving bands of supermutants would ever dare come anywhere near the place, she took her stint at guard duty seriously. She didn't have to do guard duty at all. She was, after all, the General but she had always been of the mind that she would never ask anyone to do something that she would not be willing to do herself. It was probably one of the reasons that she had so much respect. That and the fact that she had almost singlehandedly wiped out more than a dozen Coursers… mostly with her bare hands.

She never set herself aloft from her people. She was approachable.

She lay the rifle down on the rail and leaned into it to peer through the scope. Far in the distance she spotted an engorged bloatfly bobbing in the undergrowth. She leaned into her rifle and slipped her finger onto the trigger. She took a calm breath and squeezed. The rifle made a pfft sound and there was a satisfying mini explosion when the oversized bullet struck the unsuspecting mutated insect. It was a waste of a .50cal round but she didn't really care.

If Max were to be honest with herself, she would admit that the Commonwealth was not really as exciting as it used to be. Before, she was out on the road all of the time helping settlements, killing raiders, Supermutants and feral ghouls. She had tamed it somewhat, neutered it and now she was more and more the administrator. The Government. Who wanted to be a Government worker? Not her.

She wanted to get out on the road again. She needed to sharpen her wits again. She hadn't been out in two whole months. Maybe tomorrow she would go over the the Prydwen and see if they needed anything. The walk would do her good. And if she left early enough then she could avoid Preston and his many… many, many boring tasks… maybe RJ would come for a walk. She doubted it… he was cosied up to Curie, after a long fought struggle... or seduction? More like begging.

She hadn't seen Elder Maxson in a while. He had cooled his jets after the last time they had spoken. Keeping things professional as he had promised he would. She should have a chat with him in person just to keep up appearances if nothing else.

She wouldn't sleep with him though. No Siree-bob, that would not be a good idea at all.

She liked him. He was a nice kid… No, she had agreed to not call him that anymore. He was a nice guy. He was an effective leader. He was a heck of a fighter. She liked him. He was also a very handsome and charismatic guy. Young though… She was even the dirty cougar who had taken the poor guys virginity. He was in love with her. She liked him… found him incredibly attractive but she didn't love him back. He said he would wait for her… he was keeping to his word. Man, it was complicated.

Max scanned the far shore again, her eyes picking up every trace of movement in the darkness. Over to the southwest, there was a herd of Radstags. She had always wondered why the people of the Commonwealth were so disgusted with the beasts. They were fired at on sight. It seemed a bit of an extreme reaction to what were essentially creatures similar to Brahmin. Max remembered what deer looked like before the war. She felt a lot of sympathy for the beasts.

To the southeast, a lone mirelurk wandered up and down the shore. A couple of bloodbugs hung around near the road. Other than that the only thing moving were the twigs in the dead trees as the soft warm breeze blew through from the east and the Atlantic.

Max looked down at the gate guards they were sitting on patio chairs on either side of a table playing cards and smoking cigarettes. She wondered if she could put a round through one of their hats. She looked down her scope at them. Danny Sullivan had a good hand, if he kept his head he could win the game. She sighed and looked at her pipboy. Christ, it was only four. She had another two hours of this.

She started planning her trip for the day. If she quickly packed and left right after her shift, she could make Diamond City by lunchtime. She could have nap and a meal and then sweet talk one of the Lancers into taking her to the Prydwen. Or she could just walk the rest of the way. Man, she was getting lazy.

She was glad her mind didn't automatically think to relay to CIT and then relay onto the Prydwens Command Deck. Nah… She would walk.

Max leaned against the rail and set her rifle down. She crossed her arms on the rail and set her chin on top. Damn, she was bored.

Elder Maxson watched as Max was greeted by Lancer Captain Kells at the door from the flight deck. This must have been one of the few times that Max had boarded the Prydwen in a conventional fashion rather than just showing up out of the blue where she was not expected.

He had been forewarned of her arrival by his squad in Diamond City and had time to gather himself into the semblance of a seasoned warrior and great leader, rather than the jittery young man that he was. He had waited patiently for her to come to her senses and see that they were supposed to be together. It had only taken her two months.

Masxon stood at his customary position on the command deck. His feet planted firmly on the deck, his hands clasped in the small of his back. The large windows behind him grandly displaying the Commonwealth. He hoped that he cut a good figure. He wanted to make a good impression on the General.

Max looked past Kells and caught Maxsons eye. She raised her hand and waved flippantly at him. He returned the gesture with a nod and a half smile. She rolled her eyes at him and walked past Kells, patting him on the back as she did so.

"Elder Maxson." She hailed him from the entrance, walking towards him with a swish of her hips and a gleam in her eye. "I was in the area, thought I'd stop by, see if you and your friends were playing nice in the Commonwealth."

"General Everton. A pleasure as always." Maxson extended his hand to her formally.

She took it and shook with a wide smile on her face, lighting up the already bright command deck.

"You remembered." She started to say. She had reintroduced the hand shake to the Elder some time ago. She found herself suddenly pulled in close and made a surprised sound as he landed a soft kiss on her cheek. Ah, yes. She had done that too. Maybe she needed to clarify that the kiss on the cheek was optional, not mandatory. She chose to ignore the extended gesture. She wasn't there yet despite the Elders hopes.

She made her face friendly, but not overly friendly.

"I know this is a belated visit but I thought it would be a good time to take stock of what we have been up to over the last couple of months. We didn't really say anything… business related the last time I saw you." She said, her tone even.

"I will order some beverages and we can retire to my quarters to…" Maxson was cut off by Maxs hand rising.

"The Mess will be fine… we won't be discussing anything earth shattering, I'm sure." The last thing she wanted was to be in Maxson private quarters right now. He was looking particularly fine today… maybe he had spruced himself up for her visit. She was going for the General and Elder vibe. Not boyfriend and girlfriend. Close quarters were a definite no-no.

Maxson frowned at her interruption before he masked his expression in composure. His eyes remained hard.

"As you wish, General." He let go of her hand and gestured for her to go before him.

She turned and walked from the room making her way to the ladder leading to the main deck above. Maxson followed not sure what he should make of the visit now. He had been sure she would come to see him for a different reason than what she was portraying… maybe she was just here for a briefing?

He breathed in deeply in her wake. Carrot flower, leather, gunpowder and that certain something that hinted at true peril. He watched her climb the ladder appreciatively. She had very nice features and her leather armour enhanced them quite pleasingly he noted.

They made their way to the mess hall, which went quiet as they entered. The assembled, off-duty Brotherhood soldiers turning as one to stare at the duo. Maxson rarely visited the mess and the last time the General had been in there she had been naked… except for Maxsons battle coat… but the people there that night knew that she was naked underneath it though.

Maxson nodded towards a table which hastily emptied of its inhabitants. Max gave a flirty smile to the Mess officer. He had been on duty that night too. He blushed and busied himself by filling a clean coffee mug.

As Maxson took his seat, he was surprised that the Mess officer appeared next to Max, placing the hot brew at her elbow without being asked. Max flashed him a smile that would have melted any mans knees and Maxson felt the suddenly and irrational need to throw the man overboard. He didn't. He nodded his thanks and then Max and he began to discuss the state of the Commonwealth under the combined control of the Brotherhood and Minutemen.

The meeting itself took a few hours, they passed quickly and pleasantly enough. They didn't agree on everything… they rarely did so it was not a big worry. Proctor Ingram approached the table briefly and asked after Sophie Haylen, former Brotherhood Scribe and current Minuteman captain. She left after a prolonged glare from Maxson registered to her during her conversation with Max.

Max finally stretched languorously and looked down at her pipboy.

"Crikey, look at the time. I should go or I'll end up walking in the dark."

"You should stay." Maxson suggested, a little to eagerly.

Max gave him a long disapproving look before standing and waiting for him to do the same. He got to his feet slowly and she could see the tiny muscle in his jaw working.

She walked slightly ahead of him as they left the main deck, climbed down the ladder and then exited the command deck. It was a little windy on the flight deck and it made talking difficult, that suited Max just fine. She could feel Maxson presence behind her and knew that as soon as they were out of earshot of the crew he would start his assault on her, verbally of course, to break down her defences and attempt to get her into his bed again. If she were to be completely honest he wouldn't really need to do too much convincing. She needed to head him off at the pass.

She turned on him suddenly.

"Thanks for the hospitality, Arthur. No need for you to stand out here in the cold. One of the Lancers will take me down." She grinned at him in what she hoped was a steady and winning manner.

"I'll take you." Arthur insisted.

"No need, I'm sure you have something to attend to."

"No… I don't." He frowned. "Are you… I won't be happy until… Max, don't go yet."

"I have to," She shuffled her feet and looked down at them for a moment. "I might actually go to CIT and see if they need anything."

"Don't relay from on board the Prydwen." Maxson warned. It was a rule he implemented after he suspected that she used the relay to sneak on board.

She slammed her fist down on the rail, her eyes flashing with sudden temper. "I have a great idea… why don't you go and suck the joy out of life some more? God knows that's what the wasteland needs, more fucking misery." She struck a superior pose, her head high and back straight, "You sir, are an arsehat and I, quite frankly, will be rid of you." She disdainfully looked down her nose at him for a moment before placing her hand on the rail of the flight deck and launching herself over the side.

Maxson made a strangled sound and made a grab for her and missed. He leaned over the rail and watched in horror as her body fell like a stone towards the unforgiving ground hundreds of feet below. He blinked in disbelief as she disappeared in a flash of light before she hit.